British Player Calls Out Alexander Zverev’s Notorious Habit Ahead of Their Vienna Clash

Alexander Zverev will be officially ranked No.1 on Monday. Following his win over Tallon Griekspoor in the second round of the Vienna Open, Sascha dethroned Jannik Sinner from the top of the live rankings.

He will next be locking horns with Arthur Fery. The British ace ended Lorenzo Musetti‘s run to schedule his career’s second match against the two-time Grand Slam champion.

Fery recently made an appearance on The Changeover Podcast, during which he called out an annoying habit of Zverev, saying Sascha is always late for matches. But it’s not the German but Karen Khachanov whose late arrival for a match frustrated Fery a great deal.

He [Zverev] is always late, but no, I don’t think he made me wait that much. It’s one of those where you get used to it a little bit. In those big tournaments, they call your match, and you think you have three minutes to go up there to get ready, but actually everyone takes 10 minutes. So you have way more time than you think. I didn’t wait for him too much.

They first met in the semifinal of this year’s Wimbledon. Zverev ended Fery’s breakthrough run with a straight-set win and reached his career’s first final in the grass-court Major, losing the match to Sinner.

I actually complained. I never complain about this stuff, but in Shanghai I was really ( ) because the guy told me a specific time to be at the front by the buggies, and I was there on time. I waited six minutes before Khachanov turned up, so my warm-up is basically useless. By the time you get the buggy onto the court, it’s been 10-15 minutes since you warmed up. So it is a bit of a weird rule.

Arthur Fery added

Fery met Khachanov in the second round in Shanghai and lost the match in three sets, which also included three tiebreaks. The only time Fery has defeated a top-10 player was in the quarterfinals of this Wimbledon, where he ended Flavio Cobolli‘s run. Fery has played one tour-level final so far in his career, reaching the stage at the Winston-Salem Open, losing the match to Ignacio Buse.

Juan Carlos Ferrero on whether Alexander Zverev can now compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Juan Carlos Ferrero is the former coach of both Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz. The 2003 French Open briefly coached the World No.2 that ended after his early exit at the 2018 Australian Open, with Ferrero later accusing Zverev of lacking professionalism.

But following Zverev’s achievements this season, Ferrero only has praise for his former protege. During his interview with Eurosport Spain, Ferrero also predicted whether Zverev has it in him to challenge the dominance of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

I think we’re seeing a rivalry that we’ve already seen with one other player. Well, hopefully Zverev, or those close to him, whether they’re ranked fourth or fifth, will raise their level and we can see a bit more competition among the Grand Slams. But it’s difficult to predict that. I think what Rafa, Roger, and Novak have achieved… it’s really hard to imagine someone winning so many Grand Slams in this day and age.

Alcaraz started working with Ferrero in 2019 and parted ways last December over failed contract negotiations. Ferrero joined Spanish golfer Angel Ayora‘s team following the split with the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

But he will be back on the tennis tour next year as a coach of a player whose name he has not yet revealed. The announcement of the same will be made on November 9.

Also read: Juan Carlos Ferrero Says His Relationship With Carlos Alcaraz Was ‘Not at All Paternal’